Anger as rail fares set to rise 3.2% after summer of chaos

RAIL commuters reacted angrily yesterday over news that the price of season tickets will rise by up to 3.2 per cent next year.

Pressure group Railfuture said train passengers were being treated like ‘second-class citizens’. Spokesman Bruce Williamson said: ‘We’ll easily have the most expensive fares in Europe, yet the government continues to freeze fuel duty for motorists.’

Meanwhile. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described the increase as ‘an insult to everyone who has suffered from the chaos on Britain’s railways’.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said the rise was ‘just another kick in the teeth’ for passengers ‘already furious at the shocking level of service on Britain’s rip-off privatised railways’. There have been calls for a freeze on fares following chaos when new timetables took effect in May.

A 3.2 per cent rise in season ticket prices would increase Brighton to London tickets to £4,846 (up £150), Gloucester to Birmingham to £4,239 (up £131) and Liverpool to Manchester to £3,253 (up £101). Price rises were capped at July’s Retail Prices Index figure, which was 3.2 per cent.